- $15 Million Clinton Global
Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action Brings New Resources to
Laboratories in Sub-Saharan Africa
Although largely unrecognized, laboratories are critical to
disease control, including HIV/AIDS. Laboratory systems enable
accurate disease detection, confirmation, treatment, and
monitoring; however, under-resourced laboratory systems in
sub-Saharan Africa threaten effective disease response and control.
Today, at the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting,
Siemens Healthcare, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) announced “Stronger Together,” a new five-year
Commitment to Action valued at $15 million, to strengthen
laboratory systems in sub-Saharan Africa. In collaboration with
five African countries, “Stronger Together” will leverage the
expertise of each partner to build laboratory infrastructure and
human resources.
“Laboratory services are essential to the entire health care
system and quality laboratory systems are a key underpinning of
PEPFAR’s HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment efforts. We’re
excited about working with CDC in this partnership with Siemens to
advance PEPFAR’s ongoing effort to build laboratory capacity in
countries with a high disease burden,” said Ambassador Deborah L.
Birx, M.D., U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. “This public-private
partnership will build on PEPFAR’s existing training delivery
approaches by using online learning tools to train thousands of
qualified professionals working tirelessly to diagnose disease
outbreaks and other diseases occurring in the population, so they
can be treated effectively.”
As a global leader in clinical diagnostics, Siemens will provide
laboratory training to laboratory personnel through its
Personalized Education Plan (PEP). PEP is the in vitro diagnostics
industry’s first virtual competency-based education and training
solution, which is designed for advanced customized training.
E-learning tools are not new to Siemens—the company currently
trains its own global workforce using Web-based and mobile
technologies. According to the CEO of Siemens Healthcare
Diagnostics, Michael Reitermann, “Lab tests that deliver timely,
accurate, and reliable results, along with skilled laboratory
personnel, are crucial for the early detection and management of
HIV/AIDS and other epidemics. We are honored to work with PEPFAR
and CDC to better equip laboratories in Africa with training
solutions to fortify the skills and ability of lab personnel to
fight these devastating diseases.”
Initially, “Stronger Together” will support capacity building
for key laboratories in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and
Zambia – countries where both PEPFAR and CDC have longstanding
collaborations with the host governments. CDC, a PEPFAR
implementing agency, has been heralded for its laboratory capacity
building efforts achieved through PEPFAR. The agency also has a
proven track record for strengthening global laboratory health
systems to fight diseases.
PEPFAR’s health systems strengthening has not only proven
critical to the HIV/AIDS response but also to addressing
opportunistic infections that threaten the lives of people living
with HIV/AIDS, such as tuberculosis and malaria. In addition, in
countries where PEPFAR has worked with partner governments to build
capacity, those governments have leveraged the health systems
strengthened through PEPFAR to respond to other diseases and
disease outbreaks, such as the 2012 Ebola response in Uganda and
the 2010 cholera outbreak in Haiti. Prompt and accurate disease
detection is crucial to effective disease response and “Stronger
Together” will expand the availability of necessary training in
resource-limited settings, making countries with a high HIV burden
better equipped to respond to and control their HIV epidemic.
Coupling Siemens’ e-learning resources with the subject matter
expertise of PEPFAR and CDC in monitoring laboratory safety and
quality is in line with PEPFAR’s call for shared responsibility and
has the potential for broad impact in strengthening health systems
in the initial five countries and beyond.
“Stronger Together” is the brainchild of longtime PEPFAR
supporter, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), who knows that an
investment in laboratories is an investment in life. “PEPFAR has
made historic progress in reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS and
caring for those living with the disease," Senator Coons said. "It
has already had a transformative impact on the African continent
and its potential for saving lives will only grow because of this
new partnership. Bringing the remarkable technological expertise of
Siemens to key labs in Africa will have a catalytic effect among
the medical professionals working there every day to advance
HIV-related testing and diagnosis. I've always been very optimistic
about what a partnership like this could accomplish, and am very
excited to see it get underway."
The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's
largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in
medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information
technology and hearing aids. Siemens offers its customers products
and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single
source – from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on
to treatment and aftercare. By optimizing clinical workflows for
the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster,
better and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some
52,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world. In fiscal
year 2013 (to September 30), the Sector posted revenue of 13.6
billion euros and profit of 2.0 billion euros. For further
information please visit: http://www.siemens.com/healthcare.
About the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is
the U.S. government initiative to save the lives of those affect by
HIV/AIDS around the world. This historic commitment is the largest
by any nation to combat a sing disease internally and PEPFAR
investments also help alleviate suffering from other diseases
across the global health spectrum. PEPFAR is driven by a shared
responsibility among donor and partner nations and others to make
investments that save lives. For more information about PEPFAR,
visit http://www.PEPFAR.gov, www.twitter.com/PEPFAR, and
www.facebook.com/PEPFAR.
About the U.S. Centers for About the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is
America's premier health promotion, prevention, and preparedness
agency and a global leader in public health. CDC is one of the
major operating components of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services and is at the forefront of public health efforts to
prevent and control infectious and chronic diseases, injuries,
workplace hazards, disabilities, and environmental health threats.
The agency is globally recognized for conducting research and
investigations and for its action-oriented approach to public
health. CDC’s Division of Global HIV/AIDS (DGHA) provides critical
leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS in resource-constrained
countries by assisting partner governments to strengthen
laboratory, epidemiology, surveillance, public health evaluation
and workforce capacity-essential components for strong sustainable
public health systems. For more information, please visit
http://www.cdc.gov/globalaids.
About the Clinton Global Initiative
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton
Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation,
convenes global leaders to create and implement solutions to the
world’s most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought
together more than 180 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates,
and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major
philanthropists, and members of the media. To date, members of the
CGI community have made more than 2,900 commitments, which are
already improving the lives of more than 430 million people in over
180 countries.
CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on
collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States,
and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and
graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community
or around the world. For more information, visit
clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal
and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative
Contact for journalists:Siemens Healthcare, Media
RelationsSusan Drew, phone: +1 914-524-2844E-mail:
susan.drew@siemens.com
PEPFARVeronica Davison, phone: 202-506-0426E-Mail:
davisonv@state.govorKristin Pugh Bundy, phone: 202-558-8221E-mail:
kristin@kreativestrategies.com
CDCAngela Colson, phone: 404-353-8245E-Mail:
ascolson@cdc.gov
For further information on PEPFAR, please see www.pepfar.govFor
further information about CDC, please see
www.cdc.gov/globalaidsFollow us on Twitter at:
www.twitter.com/siemenshealth
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